Briar's Champion (3 page)

“I have a list of items
right here
M
a’am.
” He waved the clipboard at her.
“
Again
,
I’m sorry but we’re on limited time to get the job done.”

Briar
saw pity in his face. Did everyone know but her?
Exasperation built to high levels within her
, threatening to consume her.
“
Why is he doing this? God
,
he must hate me.
”
I don’t deserve this
.
She snatched the list and pen from the man. “
What’s crossed out you can take. The items that are circled need to take a trip back to the condo please.” She handed the amended form back to the stunned mover.
“
Please
don’t scratch anything.”
Turning on her heel, she was glad s
he mustered up enough strength to speak without bursting into tears in front of strangers.

“I am sorry
M
a’am
,
truly
,
but I have a job to do. We’ll
,
uh
,
be out of your hair in a bit. Is there anywhere you can go till we’re done?”

Briar didn’t want his pity. “My name is Briar, and no I don’t have somewhere else to go
—
not yet
anyway
.”
She watched as he moved forwar
d
and
wait
ed
while he
instructed the men of the changes
.
Depression threatened to drown
her.
S
he slowly walked around them,
try
ing not to be a hindrance. The sooner they
left
the better. She
made her way into her condo, and
sat on the couch. Boxes littered the floor.
Damn bastard didn’t waste any time.

On the table next to her lay the monthly bills. One by one
,
she opened them
to find he’d only paid half the balance on each one. She wasn’t surprised.
F
or someone rich with financial security
,
Westly
was a cheap man.
Sh
oulders slumped, she sighed in despair
,
wondering if he’d left her a dime. Taking out her cell phone, s
he hit speed dial four for a direct connection to her bank and typed in
the
account number
she shared with
him
on her keypad. Zero balance rang in her ears.
He left her with nothing.
The blood drained
from her face
. How did he expect her to
live?
What gave him the right to be entitled to everything? She keyed in the numbers for her personal account.
The automation verified the amount left in her account
matched the amount she’d deposited earlier
. A breath of relief seized her
.
At least I’m not destitute. There lay
the
silver lining.

A wave of exhaustion washed over her, numbness settling in her mind.
Hopelessness
was
n
’
t far behind.
The day
’
s events replayed continuous
ly
through her
head
as she tr
ied
to make sense of
how her
life
had gone from great to total shit.
Get it together
,
girl
.
She had the funds
to secure herself a small apartment
,
and said a
bless you
to her late mother who’d
taught her
to make sure she had a backup plan for her own security. With a heavy heart
,
she promised she’d make him pay for abandoning her without a care.

* * * *

Six Months Later...

“Briar
,
wait up
.
”
The sound of her friend Suzanne’s wheezing plea had Briar slowing her daily jog to a brisk walk.

“What
’s up
?”

She suppressed a smile when the other woman gave her annoyed look for not stopping altogether.

“A group of us are going out tonight
.” Suzanne
flashed a smile
between pants.
“
We want you to join us at the bar and grill. We’re doing it up, having a total girl
’
s night out. Food, dancing and liquor.
New options…
”

“I don’t think so, but thanks
,
” Briar declined politely.

“Come one Bri, you haven’t been out since that asshole
left you
. You
’
re in the prime of your life,
not to mention how spectacular you look
. We love you but hiding from life means he wins. He already took enough from you.
We‘re not asking for all night
, just
come on out for a few hours.
If you can’t do it
, we un
derstand, but
y
ou know you want to.”

“I just opened the gallery
. G
ive me a break
.
I’m tired.” Of course
,
the
temptation to go urged her to just say yes, however to utter those words took courage.
In
truth she lacked the
nerve
to say okay and follow through. Her
heart
ached all over again
each time she passed
couples showing
affection
. There was nothing she wanted more than to be okay
,
t
o have a full life. The few baby steps forward
never failed to revert a
step backward.
Wes
tly better never step to her
for
clemency, she had none in her to give him.

“Just this
once
…
I won’t bother you again. I promise, pinky promise, spit on the hand promise, and blood sister promise.”
Suzanne
’s eyes pleaded
as
she held
out her
pinky.

“Suuuz, you’re not going to leave me alone
,
are you?” Briar asked
a futile question. This was Suz the group go ‘get her’ girl
.
The last resort when any one of them needed to
be
drawn out of misery.

“Nope, you’ve been avoiding the public since
,
well
,
you know.
We hate
how
you
’re
let
ting
that jerk
-
off win. Mr. Perfect could be out there
,
but you’ll never know if you
don’t
get your hinny out there
. L
ive a little
.
Come on, it’s alright not to be okay but…you can’t let him turn you into an emotional cripple.”

Briar braced herself for the
worst when
Suz
anne
took a moment to draw in a breath.
Lord what was she gonna say next?
H
er
dearest friend was just warming up.

“
Don’t make me break out into a spirit cheer like during our school days. You know I have no shame in my game. I will
do it at the
top of my lungs.
”
The visualization was enough to
make Briar
give in, this one time.

“Where are you meeting at?”
she
asked, thinking
Suzanne
might be right.
The vibrator
she received as a gag gift
took care of her need
for a few months
,
but
lost
its
appeal
. Slowly her
body
was starting to
show signs of mutiny
.
She needed to
at least find a friend with benefits.

“Whooot!
”

The foreign sound of her
mirth
did her in.
Briar
laughed
, something she hadn’t felt like doing these past few months.

“
We’re meeting at O’Kelley’s Pub down on Fourteenth and Vine.”

“I’ll meet you there.”

“Go get’em killer, and look striking.
No lounge pants and hoody. We all love Vicky Secret’s but still how much of their pink line do you have. Let me answer that, the entire catalogue from the last two years to current. Dress alluring.
Your face is gorgeous so minimal make up. Wear
the
new perfume you bought last week. Must have pheromones
mixed with the fragrance
or something. It is def your scent.
”